Stack comparison

One option per category - what each one costs you (Expo Go, keys, native code) and what it requires

Every option of every category side by side. bun run setup asks one question per category; every answer is a module under modules/<category>/<option>/. Non-interactive: bun run setup --preset default --ui tamagui --auth supabase --yes. This page is generated from the same module.json files setup reads, so it can't drift from what ships. For how to choose, read Pick your stack first.

Presets

Category	`minimal`	`default`	`saas`
`ui`	`nativewind4`	`nativewind4`	`nativewind4`
`data`	`none`	`react-query`	`react-query`
`state`	`none`	`zustand`	`zustand`
`storage`	`kv-store`	`kv-store`	`kv-store`
`forms`	`none`	`react-hook-form`	`react-hook-form`
`i18n`	`none`	`i18next`	`i18next`
`auth`	`none`	`none`	`supabase`
`payments`	`none`	`none`	`revenuecat`
`analytics`	`none`	`none`	`posthog`
`crash`	`none`	`none`	`sentry`
`push`	`none`	`none`	`expo-notifications`
`backend`	`none`	`none`	`api-routes`
`onboarding`	`off`	`on`	`on`
`location`	`none`	`expo-location`	`expo-location`
`widgets`	`none`	`none`	`expo-widgets`
`consent`	`none`	`none`	`consent`
`testing`	`none`	`jest`	`jest`

The committed tree equals setup --preset default; saas is default plus every service category turned on.

UI (`ui`)

Option	Label	Expo Go	Hint
`nativewind4`	NativeWind 4 (default)	yes	Stable · Tailwind 3 classes + RNR components behind @/ui · Expo Go OK
`nativewind5`	NativeWind 5	yes	RC · Tailwind 4 classes behind @/ui · Expo Go OK
`tamagui`	Tamagui	yes	Tamagui 2 (v5 config, optimising compiler) behind @/ui · Expo Go OK
`unistyles`	Unistyles 3	no - dev build required	C++ StyleSheet with themes/breakpoints behind @/ui · dev build required (no Expo Go)
`stylesheet`	StyleSheet (plain RN)	yes	no style engine, tokens + StyleSheet.create · Expo Go OK

Data (`data`)

Option	Label	Expo Go	Hint
`react-query`	TanStack Query (default) (most people pick this)	yes	server state + cache · Expo Go OK
`apollo`	Apollo Client	yes	GraphQL client + normalized cache · Expo Go OK
`swr`	SWR	yes	stale-while-revalidate hooks · Expo Go OK
`none`	No data layer	yes	plain fetch; add TanStack Query/Apollo/SWR later

State (`state`)

Option	Label	Expo Go	Hint
`zustand`	Zustand (default) (most people pick this)	yes	tiny stores, persisted on the storage adapter · Expo Go OK
`jotai`	Jotai	yes	atomic state, persisted on the storage adapter · Expo Go OK
`none`	No state library	yes	built-in useSyncExternalStore stores only

zustand: requires storage ∈ kv-store | mmkv | async-storage
jotai: requires storage ∈ kv-store | mmkv | async-storage

Storage (`storage`)

Option	Label	Expo Go	Hint
`kv-store`	expo-sqlite/kv-store (default) (most people pick this)	yes	sync + async key/value on SQLite · Expo Go OK
`mmkv`	MMKV	no - dev build required	fastest sync key/value (Nitro) · dev build required (no Expo Go)
`async-storage`	AsyncStorage	yes	async-only key/value, the community standard · Expo Go OK

Forms (`forms`)

Option	Label	Expo Go	Hint
`react-hook-form`	React Hook Form (default) (most people pick this)	yes	Form + Field on @/ui Input, zod resolver · Expo Go OK
`none`	No forms library	yes	controlled @/ui Inputs with useState

i18n (`i18n`)

Option	Label	Expo Go	Hint
`i18next`	i18next (default) (most people pick this)	yes	react-i18next + expo-localization, 6 languages bundled incl. Arabic (RTL) · Expo Go OK
`lingui`	Lingui	yes	@lingui/core + @lingui/react runtime API, 6 languages bundled incl. Arabic (RTL) · Expo Go OK
`none`	No i18n	yes	i18n.t/useT return the English key

i18next: requires storage ∈ kv-store | mmkv | async-storage
lingui: requires storage ∈ kv-store | mmkv | async-storage

Auth (`auth`)

Option	Label	Expo Go	Hint
`supabase`	Supabase Auth (default) (most people pick this)	yes	email+password, Apple (native), Google (OAuth) · session on the storage adapter · Expo Go OK
`clerk`	Clerk	yes	email+code verification, Apple (native), Google (SSO) · @clerk/expo · Expo Go OK for JS flows
`better-auth`	Better Auth	yes	self-hosted on the API routes · email/password + Apple/Google · Expo Go OK
`none`	No auth	yes	auth.useSession() shim returns signed-out, signOut resolves

supabase: requires storage ∈ kv-store | mmkv | async-storage; needs EXPO_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL, EXPO_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY
clerk: requires storage ∈ kv-store | mmkv | async-storage; needs EXPO_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY
better-auth: requires backend ∈ api-routes; needs BETTER_AUTH_SECRET, BETTER_AUTH_URL

Payments (`payments`)

Option	Label	Expo Go	Hint
`revenuecat`	RevenueCat (default) (most people pick this)	no - dev build required	in-app subscriptions + paywall · dev build required (no Expo Go)
`adapty`	Adapty	no - dev build required	in-app subscriptions + Paywall Builder · dev build required (no Expo Go)
`stripe`	Stripe Checkout	yes	web checkout via API routes (no native SDK) · Expo Go OK
`none`	No payments	yes	payments.useEntitlements() shim returns none

revenuecat: needs EXPO_PUBLIC_REVENUECAT_IOS_KEY, EXPO_PUBLIC_REVENUECAT_ANDROID_KEY
adapty: needs EXPO_PUBLIC_ADAPTY_PUBLIC_KEY
stripe: requires backend ∈ api-routes; needs EXPO_PUBLIC_STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY, STRIPE_SECRET_KEY, STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET, STRIPE_PRICE_ID

Analytics (`analytics`)

Option	Label	Expo Go	Hint
`posthog`	PostHog (default) (most people pick this)	yes	product analytics + feature flags (analytics.isFeatureEnabled / useFeatureFlag) · Expo Go OK
`amplitude`	Amplitude	yes	product analytics · Expo Go OK (JS SDK, storage adapter)
`none`	No analytics	yes	analytics.track/identify/screen are no-ops, feature flags read undefined

posthog: requires storage ∈ kv-store | mmkv | async-storage; needs EXPO_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY
amplitude: requires storage ∈ kv-store | mmkv | async-storage; needs EXPO_PUBLIC_AMPLITUDE_KEY

Crash reporting (`crash`)

Option	Label	Expo Go	Hint
`sentry`	Sentry (default) (most people pick this)	yes	JS + native crash reporting · Expo Go OK (JS errors only)
`none`	No crash reporting	yes	crash.capture is a no-op

sentry: needs EXPO_PUBLIC_SENTRY_DSN

Push notifications (`push`)

Option	Label	Expo Go	Hint
`expo-notifications`	Expo Notifications (default) (most people pick this)	no - dev build required	Expo push service + local notifications · dev build required for remote push (Expo Go: local only)
`none`	No push notifications	yes	nothing registered

expo-notifications: requires storage ∈ kv-store | mmkv | async-storage

Backend (`backend`)

Option	Label	Expo Go	Hint
`api-routes`	API routes (default) (most people pick this)	yes	Expo Router +api.ts routes · src/server helpers · EAS Hosting · Expo Go OK
`none`	No API routes	yes	no src/app/api

Onboarding (`onboarding`)

Option	Label	Expo Go	Hint
`on`	Onboarding flow (default)	yes	3-slide intro at /onboarding, redirect until completed
`off`	No onboarding	yes	app opens straight into the tabs

Location (`location`)

Option	Label	Expo Go	Hint
`expo-location`	Expo Location (default) (most people pick this)	yes	foreground position + reverse geocoding, permission states handled · Expo Go OK
`none`	No location	yes	no permission prompt, no expo-location

Home-screen widgets (`widgets`)

Option	Label	Expo Go	Hint
`expo-widgets`	Expo Widgets (default) (most people pick this)	no - dev build required	iOS home-screen widget + Live Activity (Lock Screen, Dynamic Island) in SwiftUI (@expo/ui), fed from the app · dev build required (no Expo Go)
`none`	No widgets	yes	no app extension, widgets.update() is a no-op

Option	Label	Expo Go	Hint
`consent`	Consent sheet (GDPR / CCPA) (default) (most people pick this)	yes	asks before analytics + crash start (EU/EEA, UK, Switzerland, Canada, Brazil or everywhere); Settings toggles · Expo Go OK
`none`	No consent sheet	yes	consent.get() reads all-true; analytics and crash SDKs start as before

Testing (`testing`)

Option	Label	Expo Go	Hint
`jest`	Jest + Testing Library (default) (most people pick this)	yes	jest-expo preset, RNTL, tests for stores/theme/ui
`none`	No test runner	yes	no jest; module tests are removed

Stack comparison

PresetsCopy Anchor Link

UI (ui)Copy Anchor Link

Data (data)Copy Anchor Link

State (state)Copy Anchor Link

Storage (storage)Copy Anchor Link

Forms (forms)Copy Anchor Link

i18n (i18n)Copy Anchor Link

Auth (auth)Copy Anchor Link

Payments (payments)Copy Anchor Link

Analytics (analytics)Copy Anchor Link

Crash reporting (crash)Copy Anchor Link

Push notifications (push)Copy Anchor Link

Backend (backend)Copy Anchor Link

Onboarding (onboarding)Copy Anchor Link

Location (location)Copy Anchor Link

Home-screen widgets (widgets)Copy Anchor Link

Privacy consent (consent)Copy Anchor Link

Testing (testing)Copy Anchor Link

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